Dynamic Duos, Powerful Pairs…

Johnny-on-the-Spot

Certain words, standing alone, make a strong statement all by themselves.

Independence.

Freedom.

Strength.

Certain words, standing on their own might not be as forceful but if they’re teamed up with another word, phrase or name…”Bam”! as Emeril Lagasse might say.

“Duos” means a pair of people or things, especially, but not limited to music and entertainment.

So, when I say, “Dynamic Duos” or “Powerful Pairs”, what comes to mind?

Certainly not the conjunction “and” which ties two two together.

“And” is used to connect words of the same part of speech, clauses or sentences that are to be taken together.

“And” seems to bond the two concepts or thoughts together and, for me, there’s an implied strengthening that occurs

The very first thought I had was “Batman and Robin”.

Maybe that’s because I remembered watching the campy Adam West/Burt Ward shows in the 60’s.

Biff! Pow! Bam!

My list of duos and pairs was limited to two objects or subjects connected by “and”.

Just three characters.

No more.

There’s a definite television and movie influence in my list.

“Rocky and Bullwinkle”.

(Anyone else remember “Wossamatta U” and Captain Peter “Wrong Way” Peachfuzz?)

“Boris and Natasha” anyone?

“Magpie magic” with “Heckle and Jeckle”.

“Mickey and Minnie”.

“Donald and Daisy”.

“Chip and Dale”

(Not to be confused with “Chips and Dip” or the two cartoon gophers “Mac and Tosh” voiced by Mel Blanc and Stan Freiberg.)

Tell me you don’t remember, “Indubitably!”

A tip of the hat goes to “The Muppets” for “Bert and Ernie”, “Beaker and Bunsen” as well as the two cat-calling old geezers in the balcony of those shows…can you name them?

“Statler and Waldorf” uttered some gems.

“My wife and I were happy for twenty years…then we met”

“That number scared the pants off me!”

“Are you sure you didn’t just forget to put them on again?”

I have to include “Laverne and Shirley” along with the bumbling “Lenny and Squiggy”.

“Hello!”

Cartoons such as “Mutt and Jeff”, “Punch and Judy”, “Sylvester and Tweety”.

(I tought I saw a putty tat!)

From the Simpsons, we saw the antics of “Itchy and Scratchy” mimic “Tom and Jerry”.

Comic strips offered up “Calvin and Hobbs” along with “Hi and Lois”.

The slapstick comedy of “Laurel and Hardy”, “Martin and Lewis”, the great “Burns and Allen” and the arid-dry wit of “Bob and Ray”.

The music world brought us “Homer and Jethro”, “Flatt and Scruggs”, the reunited “Peaches and Herb”, “Sonny and Cher” and “Simon and Garfunkle”.

Coo coo-ca-choo, Mrs Robinson?

Any of you gals have “Barbie and Ken?”

(Why did my sisters always remove their heads?)

Who doesn’t know the love story with “Romeo and Juliet”, the witch trying to do evil to “Hansel and Gretel” or “Thelma and Louise” driving off that cliff?

How about that scene when the Feds stop “Bonnie and Clyde” at that roadblock?

Was that overkill?

I’ll check with “Starsky and Hutch”.

Thanks to “Lewis and Clark”, we found the west coast and the Pacific Ocean.

Magical stuff with “Penn and Teller” along with classic works by “Gilbert and Sullivan”.

Let’s not forget food and drink.

“Bacon and eggs”, (scrambled or sunny side up?) “pork and beans”, “beans and weenies”, “coffee and doughnuts”, “bread and butter”, “chips and salsa”, “salt and pepper”, “wine and cheese”, “cheese and crackers”, “mac and cheese”, “peaches and cream” and wash it all down with “rum and Coke”.

Did you ever find what you misplaced in the “Lost and Found”?

Sometimes you have to go “back and forth”, “to and fro”, “near and far”, “left and right”, “in and out”, “here and there”, “around and through” or “over and under”.

It’s not as plain as “black and white” and I’m on “pins and needles” not knowing how this might turn out.

We might have to “pick and choose”.

It’s a “hit and miss” proposition at best.

Sort of like “love and marriage”.

(It goes together like a horse and carriage.)

So, whatever solution you come up with, I’m “fine and dandy” with it although I might run “hot and cold” with your answer so don’t get all “high and mighty” with me.

I might have to get “down and dirty”.

Momentum is hard to establish when you are forced to “stop and go”, especially if you have to change your “shoes and socks”.

Teamwork is critical.

“First and ten”, do it again!

We must not allow them to “divide and conquer” so we might have to “hit and run” to avoid detection.

Sometimes music can help settle us down.

Do you prefer “rock and roll” or “country and western”?

Or, perhaps reading “War and Peace”?

My sincere hope is that this article will imbed itself deep within your brain and you’ll be coming up with many more “dynamic duos” or “powerful pairs” on your own.

Thanks for allowing me to ramble on.

“Hugs and kisses”.